I normally use halogen white lights reflected onto the top ceiling.

What do you guys use or how do you do ?

The problem with bouncing off the ceiling is causing racoon eyes where there is a shadow under the forehead within the eye sockets :( But it can work if everything is at the right sort of angle.

We us a mixture of lights, but the most portable we have are the Comer 1800s.

During reception (and sometimes during prep, especially on ring shots) -- two Switronix Torchbolts mounted on stands. They're brilliant, literally, but the batteries have messed me around (supplied charger has broken on me; battery life at full strength is about an hour). Better to work out some external battery solution if you buy this.

Positioning: during speeches: I try to have one adding sidelight or three-quarters backlight, and the other doing keylight. During first waltz: similar set up, but also shooting into the backlight light for flare. It's a cliche, and everyone does it, but still looks beautiful... I occasionally gel these blue.

I never bounce the light... but then the ceilings are too high in most of the venues I work with anyway.

I also carry a basic eBay Hong Kong dimmable LED (which creates a yucky greenish colour... but I'm too broke to replace it at the moment), and a rotolight (which isn't dimmable or very powerful, but fits around an on-camera microphone if I want both at once). On-camera lighting washes everything out in a deer-in-the-headlights sort of way, but I think there's lots of situations where it's unavoidable. What if you're in the middle of the crowd getting dance shots; or what if you're following the couple from farewell circle out into the blackness of the night for departure shot.

Rob Adams uses Arri 650W fresnels, by the way. I've very tempted to do the same -- the light from fresnels is better then LED in terms of eveness across the spectrum. But: (a) I'm suspicious of using any hot lights at receptions; I feel the likelihood of someone getting burnt or the light breaking is quite high; stands have fallen over for me before; (b) I'm reluctant to add that much bulk to the crap I carry around; (c) I don't really want to mess around with carrying extra globes and fuses, and waiting for lights to cool before you pack them up, and carrying gloves to handle them, etc.

Me too!

Ceilings are either not white (found a venue with black ceilings the other day too!!) or way too high over here too. I do like bounced light so I just have (for speeches) 4 x CFL lights in a fitting and squirt that into a silver umbrella and I get really nice even light. I do try and position the light as high as I can as people who have just emerged from the dim and dingy tables area and into your well lit section are already struggling with your lighting that looks over-bright to them.

I dunno, hot lights, drunk guests, huge crowd?? Sounds a bit unsafe unless you can really secure them down well. I would rather cope with a CFL toppling over than a boiling hot Arri onto an unsuspecting guest.

Chris

Got a diagram, how you plan your lights ?

I have seen many people saying LED , but I don't know if that can be bright enough for the subjects and the surrounding . Because most of the time , we take shallow DOF videos with rule of the thirds theory with good space around the focused subject .

I guess the best way is 1-2 continuous light source .

Looking for more replies.

Me too!

Ceilings are either not white (found a venue with black ceilings the other day too!!) or way too high over here too. I do like bounced light so I just have (for speeches) 4 x CFL lights in a fitting and squirt that into a silver umbrella and I get really nice even light. I do try and position the light as high as I can as people who have just emerged from the dim and dingy tables area and into your well lit section are already struggling with your lighting that looks over-bright to them.

I dunno, hot lights, drunk guests, huge crowd?? Sounds a bit unsafe unless you can really secure them down well. I would rather cope with a CFL toppling over than a boiling hot Arri onto an unsuspecting guest.

Chris

Yes I saw some models at BH , large fixtures with 4-5 CFL fitted and with umbrella . What models do you recommend ?

And do you do two light setup with that ?

One main and one fill ?

Hi Soumendra

The easiest is eBay.. they are really cheap and you can usually get heads as simple as a single fitting with a 120w 5500K CFL lamp and an umbrella. Usually that's all you need..My current one has 8 sockets (it used to have 9 but I removed the middle one to make space for the umbrella shaft) ...I seldom use any more than 4 x 55w lamps (the head is switchable) and just use the single fitting and a big umbrella ...the light from CFL's is soft already and after bouncing into an umbrella it's even softer so just a single stand quite high up (or the speakers will complain) with the lights facing away and bouncing into the umbrella at about 45 degrees.

The best way to light the speeches is to simply ask the venue to turn up the house lights!! That way you often don't need any lights at all as long as you tell the couple "it's just for the speeches" ..I always try to ask the staff to lift the ambient lighting anyway because for the person making a speech, coming from almost dark into bright video lights makes them feel blinded...turn up the housae lights 10 minutes before (and put on your video light too) and they get used to the new ambient light plus you have more light to work with!!

Chris

I use an Arri 650 for key, and two Lowel Pro 250's for backlight and fill. I also use a Comer 1800 with either a couple Fotodiox Pro LED 312A lights or Z96 LEDs. The LEDs I mainly use for things I need to be more portable for, like if cake cutting is off to the side, a certificate signing, dress shots, etc.

Depending on the venue size and other factors, I'll either have the hot lights on all night or only for the important parts. The higher they are the less noticeable they are, so I put them on 11-13 foot stands and use 6 foot stands for the LEDs. I also use dimmers, as the 650 is often too bright at full power. With that lighting I'm typically able to shoot at about ISO 320 on Canon DSLRs for the reception when shooting around f/1.4-2.0. Sometimes I'm even able to shoot at ISO 160.

The problem I see with raising the venue lights is that the venue's lights are often very evenly spread and flat looking when raised. I prefer the more dramatic look provided by having a few video lights with beams from specific sources.

Arri 650 shows 500W tungsten.

I bounce two 1000W tungsten hot lights . Still the pictures get to ISO 1250-1600 for 250 shutter or more.

I use 5D Mark 3, so I dont care going to even 4000-5000 ISO a lot of times , but for video, it has to be a key.

How do you rate fluorescent lighting kits ?

Do they provide as much as light as tungsten ?

Flu softlights can be very bright, but the light is very flat, and dull, and boring - exactly what you want as a fill, but for your key, you need shadows, and if you give it six months more, the LED ones may well be affordable and have decent enough colour rendition. We're starting to see Fresnels that look similar to tungsten, and although at the moment, they still don't look quite right, it's moving very fast.

The Chinese are even importing US made LED sources to put in their kit!

So, what would you suggest ?

Im looking for a replacement for my 1000W hot lights.

How much W fluro lights would give the same or a bit less amount of light as the 1000W tungsten ?

Spiral CFL lamps are quoted as being 5 times the actual wattage - so a 100W CFL is supposedly equal to a 500W incandesant lamp but no a halogen!! I would put the figure closer to 3 times rather than 5 but it's very hard to tell as CFL's give off a very soft light compared to the very hard halogen lights ...it gives you a much more manageable image too with zero shadows and doesn't blind the guests either.

For speeches even with my old 1/4" chip cameras and slow optics I can light a lectern with 4 x 55W CFL's and get a nice image without blinding the person behind the lectern!! Plus of course they run cold so they is no risk of someone getting scalded or even sunburnt!!

A single 4 XCFL banks 5 metres from a lectern will light a speaker more than adequately and you can keep it nice and high so they don't complain about the light blinding them!!

Chris

For speeches I'll use 2 LED-5080 which are great and will run for ages on NP batteries - however I will always try and get the house lights raised if possible, as more often than not there is barely enough room for me, tripod and my 2 extra cameras, let alone 2 lights on stands!

If I have to use them i use standbags to secure them against kids belting around.

I also have an issue with being a solo shooter, where increasingly speeches are taking place before the meal (I normally use the last 15 minutes of the meal to set up my gear) instead of after it - i'm usually filming right up until the announced entrance of the bride and groom, so have to beg 5 minutes of rushed setup time from the maître-d before the speeches kick off.

Hi Pete

I used a 23 PowerLED bank for a while but I found the light was very hard? I'm back to using CFL's again as I love the soft light they produce.

Yeah, walk in and straight into speeches is a pain!! I prefer them after dinner so I have time to setup...then again cos we get our meals last, you are just about ready to tuck into a juicy steak and the MC announces "Speeches in 5 minutes"

Chris

I use Frezzi dimables on all my cameras. Frezzi stuff is awesome, although it's a few mortgage payments to get a good set. :}

We bring 3 of these to the wedding. They work great for everything. No they won't light up like a Arri 650 but that light is too big and hot.

VL312LED High Power Bi-Color LED Dimmable Video Light Kit | L.A. Color Online (http://www.lacoloronline.com/product/?VL312LED-VL312LED-High-Power-Bi-Color-LED-Dimmable-Video-Light-Kit)

Two of these on speaker and one on the B&G is all you need. During dancing we put two by the band/dj and my assistant holds the third if I need it to film dancing on the darker parts of the floor. They are light and two batteries on each light will last you the entire wedding. We bring 8 batteries thou.

We bring 3 of these to the wedding. They work great for everything. No they won't light up like a Arri 650 but that light is too big and hot.

VL312LED High Power Bi-Color LED Dimmable Video Light Kit | L.A. Color Online (http://www.lacoloronline.com/product/?VL312LED-VL312LED-High-Power-Bi-Color-LED-Dimmable-Video-Light-Kit)

Two of these on speaker and one on the B&G is all you need. During dancing we put two by the band/dj and my assistant holds the third if I need it to film dancing on the darker parts of the floor. They are light and two batteries on each light will last you the entire wedding. We bring 8 batteries thou.Kelly, do you take advantage of the Daylight/Tungsten switching? As I understand it there are 160 daylight LEDs & 160 tungsten ones so to have full power you have a mix & if you want pure daylight you only have half power. There are 312LED lights that are daylight only & I wondered if the Bi-Color thing might not be as useful as it appears at first sight.

Nigel I have 2 of the Wallimex versions of these, and being able to tweak the colour temperature Is great - for a hotel wedding I usually have one on my camera when filming the bride walking from her room to the ceremony room as she usually passes through many different lighting scenarios that it really helps to turn it on for a little warming or cooling light.

Pete

Hi All,

I have been booked for my first wedding at Tatton Park and really worried about lighting. The bride has pointed out that she understands I don't bring any additional lights however feels that the I really need some. She will do her best by using as many candles as possible. I am now thinking that I need to address this issue as I don't want to arrive there and up shooting at 1.4 all night.



Waqas and Mobeen Highlights with Elite Filming at Tatton Park - YouTube

I also don't want those shadows. Any ideas for a good setup. Thank you.

We use 2 Comer 1800's on c-stands, both high to avoid major flares. This works for the first dance / party dancing (one key, one back), and for the speeches (one on BG, one on speaker). Dimmable, have barn doors, can be warm or cold to match the reception, run on batteries, run cold - perfect. Downside - price. With the c-stand, sandbag, light, and battery, each of these is a ~$550 light and stand.

It also helps that we shoot GH2's with Voigtlander lenses, so for us the lighting is for artistic value, not out of necessity.

Ultimately whose responsibility is it to light the venue correctly, videographer, bride, stage decor?

When a client asks you the following;

If for some reason you feel you require better lighting, do you carry any with you in order to ensure it doesn't impact on the quality of filming?

Sometimes I find it hard to answer, I feel that bringing any type of additional lighting carries to much of a risk, all it takes is one child to push it over and it could cause serious harm.

Tariq just keep some LED lights with you to use on the hotshoe. Or buy a stand. Any lighting is better than no lighting, especially if your concerned with safety or the stress of setting up mains powered lights.

To be honest were in 2013 now, I think everything should be portable / run off batteries and no videographer should need to run mains powered lighting.

But to answer your question you either offer additional lighting as part of your package or you don't to be fair, it's your decision. You can simply state you film as is, and it's the responsibility of the person decorating your stage to provide additional lighting.

My friend he does Asian weddings and says its so inconveniant having to get to the venue with either the brides or grooms party (depending on who's hired him) and then having to film straight away with out being acquainted with the venue. I understand a majority of asian weddings are like this due to arranged marriages etc. So it's obviously a nightmare to quickly set up mains powered lights if needed.

So I would recommend what I said. LED lights on stands & sandbags to keep it heavy OR just have one on the hotshoe of your camera.

I've got 4 Comer-1800 second generation which is the latest for sale if anyone in the united states wants to get these awesome lights for weddings.

I have 8 of them and want to downsize. They are all in great condition and come with acc. and bag. I will ship to the US only.

$200 each shipped.

@ Tariq, I have had these brides come my way and the best thing you can do is bring two lights like the Comer-1800 or the 312 LED, two light stands and the hot shoe adapters and slowly dim them up until you have enough light and maybe take a shot without the light and with and show the bride how her wedding video will look with them on or off.

Next time explain to every bride that you meet that if the conditions are going to be dark we must have "a couple small lights to enhance the video or it will be very grainy and dark and you might be angry with us when you see your video. We only turn them on at certain times of the day and they are not overly bright, they are raised up above your eye level and they are this big around (i show a tennis ball size)"

The idea is to make them feel comfortable and good about having light because it's a part of the production and it will make them look better. Use Hollywood and how they use light to create a mood and make the picture pop!!